英语修辞与写作·4.2　词语选择的三项标准

4.2　词语选择的三项标准

关于择语标准，人们说法不一，但准确、鲜明、生动三点则是公认的。准确的反面是含糊；鲜明的反面是晦涩；生动的反面是死板、冗赘。当然，某词语用得是否符合标准要求，不可孤立地从词语本身的含义上着眼，还要看其具体使用场合，包括同其他词语搭配等。

4.2A　择语的准确性

1） 准确性，就是要根据使用场合选用确切的语言形式。正如有句英语俗语所言：

Do not write so that your words may be understood, but write so that your words must be understood.

著名美国作家马克·吐温（Mark Twain）说：

The difference between the right word and the almost right word is as great as that between lightning and the lightning bug. （用词准确与用词几乎准确，这两者之间的差异就如同闪电与萤火虫之间的差异。）

2） 为了择语准确，必须熟悉词语的多义性。例如depression一词对心理学家、经济学家或地质学家来说，含义各不相同：

He is in a state of deep depression as a result of his setback in the latest experiment. （抑郁）

The depression first hit almost all the small and medium sized enterprises. （萧条）

Transportation was at a standstill caused by the depressions in the highways after the earthquake in that area. （塌陷）

反之，也常常有几个词语可以表示类似的含义，如心理学上的“depression”也能用melancholia, the blues, the dismals, in the dumps, low等词语表示。当然，同义词语在使用上也会有所不同，如上面的melancholia属正式专业术语，而low, the blues则常用于口语中。

3） 要做到准确选择，有必要注意词语的两种意义：“基本意义”（denotation）和“引申意义”（connotation）。前者指该词语的本身，或客观的固有含义，后者指该词语在一定搭配或上下文中出现的其他意义，往往比较含蓄，带有词语使用者的主观态度或感情色彩。试以cheap为例。它的基本意思是表示价格便宜，如顾客问营业员：“May I have something cheaper?”意思是希望要价钱便宜一点的（=less expensive），当然并不是说质量可以不好，但在其他句式或使用场合里还可引出“低劣”、“平庸”、“吝啬”、“卑鄙”等多种意思，这类意思正是修辞上的“敏感地带”。例如：

Such cheap shoes can never last long. （质量如此低劣的鞋绝不会耐穿。）

4） 选用词语的准确性还表现在区分表示大体/抽象含义的词语和表示具体/特定含义的词语上，需要根据不同的使用场合作出正确的选择。例如为了突出某人所受到的良好教育和在工作中取得了突出成就，就不宜笼统地讲他是“graduated from a famous university and made great achievements in his work”，而应具体说明他毕业于哪所大学，得到了什么学位，在某单位担任了什么职务，取得的成就是什么，其社会效益如何，得到过什么奖励等等。

抽象含义词语和具体含义词语不是两个对立的家族，在一定的条件下可以转化，如labour一词通常带抽象含义，但并非一成不变。试比较：

句A： Honest labour creates wealth for the society.

句B： In the GM contract dispute, labour seeks a five cent per hour wage increase.

上述A句中labour一词为抽象含义，泛指各种社会劳动；B句中labour为具体含义，特指UAW，即（美国）联合汽车工会。

4.2B　择语的鲜明度

前面讲到的准确性是鲜明度的前提，也是提高鲜明度的基础。然而，鲜明与简练相关。英国文豪莎士比亚的名言“Brevity is the soul of wit.”相当于汉语的“言贵简洁”。我们说话、写文章都要以“言简意赅”四字为目标，为此，应从两个方面加以注意：

1） 在可以用较简短的常见词语表达意思时不要用复杂而少见的词语，如do something for （不用perform, accomplish），用end / finish a letter （不用terminate, conclude），用learn / find out the truth （不用ascertain），用 get a birthday present （不用procure）, 用try to do something well（不用endeavour）；用speak in anger with him that day（不用indignation）, 用make choice of one's teacher / tutor of English （不用selection, educator）, 用one's old friends （不用aged）, 用ask a friend to supper / dinner / dine （不用tender him a banquet）, 用begin one's answer （不用commence / initiate, rejoinder）, 等等。上述斜体都是简单词（simple words），拼写和发音都较简明，易为别人理解和接受。

2） 多余的或转弯抹角的词语都不利于明白地表达思想，因此下列短语中加括号的部分都应省去： mutual aid （to each other）/（mutual） aid to each other, （an entirely） complete confidence, repeat the question （again）, return （back） from abroad, etc.

试比较下列三组句子：

A1: There are sixteen boys attending the crash course.

A2: Sixteen boys attend the crash course.

B1: A great many of the students in the class lack the ability of being able to speak fluently.

B2: Many students in the class lack the ability of speaking fluently / can't speak fluently yet.

C1: The fact of the matter is that the office does not have enough funds in the allotment to make expenditure on programs of this nature.

C2: In fact the office doesn't have enough money to spend on these programs.

显然，上述3组中的第一句都不够简洁，应采用第二句为宜。

4.2C　择语的生动感

生动感也可以叫做优美感（gracefulness），它是建立在准确性和鲜明度的基础之上的，否则，单纯追求生动或优雅，就会出现词藻华丽（flowery）而内容空洞的文风，那是应当避免的。下面让我们比较两段文章：

A） For several days snow fell heavily in the south of England. It lay many inches thick on the ground. The roofs of houses were white; walking through the streets was difficult; driving was dangerous.

B） It was the coldest winter for forty-five years. Heavy snow blankets swallowed everything on earth: Villages in the English countryside were cut off and the Thames froze over. Cars crawled along while pedestrians trudged through the deep snow. Horns hoarsened; road accidents shot up. People told jokes about how it was more risky to drive by day than to go boating on the sea at night.

上述两段都是写大雪天的情景，相比之下，A篇不及B篇生动，因为其中一般概念性的词语较多，如heavily, difficult, dangerous等等，B篇其所以比较生动，主要取决于下面几个因素：

1） 选用含义准确、具体的词语。如用trains, cars, pedestrians, cut off, freeze over, crawl along, trudge, horns以及具体的时间地点，给读者以明确具体的印象，而不是笼统地讲walking, driving如何危险。

2） 采用适当的辞格。如blankets, swallowed, hoarsened, shot up等，带有比喻、夸张，增加了生动感。

3） 提高句式的多样性。整段文章5句话，结构各不相同。人言“Variety breeds vividness”，可谓言之有理。

练习四　（Exercise Four）

I. Preview Questions:

1. Can you give an example to indicate the importance of word choice?

2. Do you think it a good idea to give a second thought to your word choice and consult dictionaries from time to time?

3. What other things, apart from preciseness, distinctiveness and vividness, we should pay attention to in the choice of words?

4. Can you cite an example to prove how polysemy affects the choice of words?

5. Can you tell the difference between denotation and connotation?

6. Please cite an example of a word or phrase to be used in one context for its general sense and another for its specific sense.

7. What kind of words, simple ones or long and difficult ones, should you choose if you want to write in an informal, easygoing way?

8. Is it possible for one to achieve gracefulness in writing if he uses many flowery words and expressions only?

II. Read and determine whether each of the following statements is true （T） or false （F）:

1. Words must be used in context clearly, accurately and effectively.

2. English is a language with a large vocabulary, which offers plenty of room for word choice.

3. When one writes that his words may be understood in one way or another, he can be regarded as an accurate writer.

4. If you want to achieve clarity, you should be able to avoid word wasters and avoid lofty language including inflated words, stuffy phrases, etc.

5. If you want to write accurately, the first and most important thing is to pay attention to denotation and connotation.

6. In the sentence “Honest labor creates wealth for the society”, the word “labor” is used in its specific meaning.

7. Shakespeare's saying “Brevity is the soul of wit” means that we should only use simple, short words in writing on all occasions.

8. The saying “Variety breeds vividness” tells us that if we repeat the same words, expressions and sentence patterns, our writing will be dull and dry.

III. Use a single word for each of the underlined part in the following sentences:

1. John is of the opinion that everything will be going on smoothly.

2. He is always ready to give encouragement to any of his friends who is in need of it.

3. We can keep in contact by means of telephone, telex or fax.

4. Please find there is a cheque for ￡5 in this letter together with two photos.

5. You may have noticed that the policeman's story comes into conflict with that of the accused.

6. Our university is in close proximity to the second largest lake of the country.

7. There are two main methods of transporting the oil, through the use of pipeline or through the use of tanker.

8. Unfortunately, we are not in a position to offer assistance to you.

9. I will not interpose any objection to your proposal.

10. The cart is making a noise on the pavement.

IV. Fill in the blanks with the words given in corresponding brackets:

1. As we know, “pretty” and “handsome” are synonyms but often used in different collocations. For instance, they both can be used to modify boys but not girls, and you have a____________color but a____________overcoat. （handsome, pretty）

2. In the sentence “Out in the West where men were men”, the____________（first, second） “men” is used not in the sense of “men in general” but “men with courage, firmness”.

3. When you say “Bill delivered a lengthy apology and gained his suit”, you mean he made a long____________（justification, excuse）.

4. — Waiter!

　— Yes, sir.

　— What's this?

　— It's____________soup, sir.

　— No matter what it's____________. What is it now?

　（been, bean）

5. The real cause of bad relations between the brother and sister is the shortage of____________. （alternative accommodation, other flats/rooms/houses）

6. The phrase “get to the first base” in the sentence “If you don't dress neatly, you won't get to the first base” means____________. （“make a successful start”, “obtain the best opportunity”）

V. Fill in each blank with one of the verbs: move, roll, run, spin, turn, whirl:

Today it can be said that wheels____________America. The four rubber tires of the automobile____________America through work and play. Wheels , and people drive off to their jobs. Tires____________, and people shop for the week's food at the big supermarket down the highway. Hubcaps____________, and the whole family spend a day at the lake. Each year more wheels crowd the highways as 10 million new cars____________out of the factories. One out of every six Americans works at assembling cars, driving trucks, building roads, or pumping gas. America without cars? It is unthinkable.

参考答案

Ⅱ. 1. T　2. T　3. F　4. T　5. F　6. F　7. F　8. T
Ⅲ. 1. believes 2. encourage, needs/need 3. by/through 4. Enclosed 5. conflicts 6. close 7. by, by/with, with 8. unable, help 9. object 10. creaking
Ⅳ. 1. pretty, handsome；　2. second；　3. justification；　4. bean, been；　5. other flats/rooms/houses；　6. make a successful start V. run, move, spin, turn, whirl, roll.